A historic home in the community of St. Davids is at risk of being lost due to its decrepit status, says a Niagara-on-the-Lake advocate.
Brian Marshall, a member of the NOTL municipal heritage committee, brought the state of the 225-year-old David Secord home on Paxton Lane to the attention of fellow committee members at its Oct. 2 regular meeting.
“This is a textbook case of demolition by neglect and unfortunately the town is contributing to the textbook case of demolition by neglect,” Marshall told the committee.
Marshall outlined a host of issues with the home, which he said was built in 1799 by Secord — issues he believes should not be occurring, since the structure is protected under the town’s heritage bylaws.
“The roof is completely shot,” he said.
“There are holes in the roof so rain is getting in and it is going to affect the structure.”
“The front door … is standing open, so whatever goes in can go in,” he added.
Further issues include dirt and rubble pushed up against one side of the house — a result of an attempt to grade the surface surrounding the home — which will also eventually affect the building’s structural integrity, he said.
“In doing the grading, incidentally, they have undercut the concrete of the front steps so they are hanging in the air,” he added.
Additionally, continued Marshall, parts of the stucco facade are peeling and exposing a lime mortar that will surely disintegrate if left to the weather.
Other areas of the home are open to the elements as well, thanks to collapsing or removed window frames.
The Lake Report visited the location and can corroborate the list of needs and damages visible from the exterior.
“We simply haven’t enforced the laws that we have to protect this building,” said Marshall, who feels one of the community’s founding fathers, David Secord, deserves more respect.
“St. Davids is named after the guy that built this,” he said.
Marshall went on to share an anecdote of a time he used to commute past an octagonal home while living in the Greater Toronto Area.
Octagonal homes were a novel architectural style in North America in the early 19th century.
There are reportedly only 200 left in North America.
“It was boarded up and allowed to be vandalized,” remembered Marshall.
“And one day when I was driving home it had just fallen down. And that’s what is going to happen (to the Secord home) — it’s just gonna fall down.”
Marshall is prepared to use his energy and networks to assist in saving the home, telling the committee he is going to attempt to contact the owner and that he has identified a person willing to put $1 million into its restoration.
“But we need to know if a million dollars will save this place before (the investor) commits,” he said.
“We need to act on this and I am sort of looking to (town) staff as well, in terms of let’s get it done.”
Senior heritage planner for the town of Niagara-on-the-Lake, Candice Bogdanski, who was also at the committee meeting responded to Marshall’s concerns.
“We appreciate receiving your comments,” she told him.
“I assure you that I am working on it internally with staff at this moment so I appreciate you bringing it to the attention of the committee but there is a response underway,” she said.
“We are just following due process.”
David Secord was an American who settled in Niagara following the American Revolution.
He was elected to the fifth Parliament of Upper Canada and helped establish St. Davids as a businessman in the community.
He was the brother-in-law of Laura Secord, who famously made a trip on foot from Queenston to Beaver Dams to warn British Soldiers during the War of 1812 that the Americans were planning a surprise attack on their location.
